Thomas Johnson Unified Tennis player Payton Buckley had one motivating factor as she prepared to compete in the state tournament.
“To help my teammates,” she said.
It was a noble enough goal, to be sure. And it’s doubtful few, if any, athletes in any sport have ever gone to the lengths Buckley did to deliver such help.
Twenty days after having brain surgery, Buckley took the court at the state tournament on Nov. 12 and teamed up with doubles teammate Gianna Shippey to win their match at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park.
That victory helped the Patriots place second in the state. Buckley’s ability to help secure that runner-up finish, on the other hand, was second to none in the toughness department as far as Patriots Unified Tennis coach Quinn Williams is concerned.
“She’s a sweet little girl, but she’s tougher than anybody that you put on a football field, a basketball court or anything,” said Williams, who used to coach high school football at Catoctin and Oakdale, of the 19-year-old. “People get an ankle injury or stub their finger, they’re out for the game. When she had brain surgery, she comes back and competes.
“So, if there was a definition of toughness, that would be her,” he said. “But she doesn’t look like it.”
Decked out in red TJ field hockey sweatshirt (that’s one of many sports she’s played at the school), Buckley has been forced to deal with adversity her whole life.
She’s been suffering from epileptic seizures since she was four months old. At first, Buckley was given medicine to treat them. But eventually, she had to have surgeries. She’s had seven, including six this year. The most recent one was on Oct. 23, when Buckley had her entire left temporal lobe removed.
As unlikely as it seemed, Williams asked Payton’s mother, Dawn, if her daughter would be ready to play in the state tournament after the surgery. The answer ended up being yes.
Right after the surgery, Buckley had some vision and balance issues, but her drive to bounce back and compete on the tennis court kicked in. Just returning to practice was a stunning feat.
“Many staff members at TJ were like, ‘Oh my God, Buckley’s in the house,’ and [they] were pretty shocked to see her out there, pretty happy in seeing how resilient she is,” Dawn Buckley said.
Williams could only imagine what it must be like to attempt a quick comeback after brain surgery.
“She missed a lot of practice time. It was amazing that she was able to step on the court, but then compete and win on top of everything else that she had going on with her,” he said. “She was moving up and back on the court on Nov. 12, so she recovered very, very quickly.”
As shocking as this is, Buckley has exhibited drive before.
She’s competed in numerous Polar Bear Plunges at Sandy Point.
And last school year, she competed in the Unified Track state meet a few weeks after having surgery. Just as telling, after having her hands held by a coach as she competed most of the season, she eschewed such help, from start to finish, at districts.
“That pretty much summed it up from there how she wants it,” Dawn said.
Aside from tennis and track, Buckley has also competed in bocce ball and girls lacrosse (which isn’t a Unified sport). Tennis proved special because she got to pair up with her brother, Zachary, when he attended TJ. Zachary, who had competed in football, basketball and baseball, was drawn to Unified sports because of Payton.
Dawn said Shippey proved to be a great doubles partner for Payton. They played on a short court with a red ball. Unified Tennis offers different types of tennis (including full court) and different skill levels, although such variants are less important than the overall experience for athletes.
“I just think Unified sports is a great addition to any school, it brings your general education students together with your Unified students,” Dawn said. “They form this little bond, and it’s really great for the special ed students to have somebody to look up to in the school and to see them in the hallways and connect with them. They’re great peer mentors.”
Payton is in her second year in the FCPS SUCCESS Program, which is a secondary transition/vocational education program designed for students 18-21. SUCCESS is for students who are capable of entering the workforce, and Payton has benefited.
“Aside from cognitive delays, she’s pretty much like everybody else,” Dawn said.
Well, given her ability to compete shortly after having brain surgery, Buckley might possess a quality many others either don’t have or are never forced to use.
“She’s amazing,” Williams said. “More resilient than I could ever be, that’s for sure.”
